


Making Retail Interesting

by Jaedeite



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Retail, Literally only rated teen since I probably cussed a few times, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 05:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12741594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaedeite/pseuds/Jaedeite
Summary: Saihara works in retail. He doesn't mind it, to be fairly honest. Though, someone keeps messing around with him? He has no idea why, but he wants to find out.





	Making Retail Interesting

**Author's Note:**

> I recently got a job at retail, and I think about stories in my head when I'm bored.  
> This is one of them, but, I haven't wrote fanfiction in years! The last fanfiction I wrote was probably back in high school. So I'm honestly not sure how my writing is, to be fairly honest. But! That's not gonna stop me now!  
> Also, I have no idea how many tags I should use. I know some people use like, a thousand of them, but, I can't think of many.

Saihara didn’t hate his job. On the contrary, it might have been a retail job with unsure hours, but it was bearable. The customers, no, the guests, as the store liked to call them, were usually never rude to him. He was shy, but he could put on a nice friendly mask, even if sometimes when pushing carts of re-shop, he would turn down an aisle to avoid talking to people.

It was a good job to make some extra money to save. He was still in college studying Criminology, and didn’t really need the money, to be honest. Saihara’s family was pretty well off. He could have attended college without working a part-time job, but to him, it felt wrong to not work. It gave him a bit more freedom. Plus, walking was a good form of exercise. On a good day, he would get in close to fourteen thousand steps. His feet had a slight ache all the time, but it was bearable.

Even though he didn’t hate his job, there was something that always caught his interest. It didn’t really seem to happen to anyone else, but sometimes, when he was going through aisles and zoning, aka pulling things forward to make the lane look fuller while also making it neat, he’d come back and find things put in awkward positions. Things stacked, things backwards, everything taken off the hangers and put on the shelves. Nothing serious, but time consuming nonetheless. It took him a while to figure out what was going on.

“Angie.” He had said to his coworker one day, a nice white-haired girl that worked in the make-up department. He had to pass by her section to go to the service desk to get something, and stopped for a second to talk to her. She couldn’t leave that section while on duty, something about make-up being expensive and easy to steal. She had to always keep an eye on the make-up, and if she left for breaks, someone had to watch the area. 

“I think someone is playing a joke on me,” Saihara had continued with a sigh. “Whenever I’m going through my zones, things end up out of place, like, all the time?”

Angie looked up at him even though she was squatting, putting some make-up away. She let out a loud ‘mmhmm!’, then she jumped up, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Maybe!” Angie grinned, “Or maybe god is trying to give you a sign!”

Saihara didn’t know what he had expected, he pressed his lips together forming a crease, squinting a bit at her. “What would god even be trying to tell me?”

“Maybe he just, really likes you!” She cheered, now clapping her hands together. “Ah, but you don’t seem upset you’re being messed with, more curious?” She paused, studying Saihara’s face for a bit. He was confused, a bit lost in thought, taking in her words. “I’m right, aren’t I! Well, then, maybe you should just keep playing along! Keeps retail a bit more interesting, does it not?”

She wasn’t wrong. Though it gave Saihara more work, someone or something, was interested in him. Whether it was a stalker with too much time on their hands, or some child fucking around, it was interesting. It was a mystery, one he wanted to solve. So, he gave a quick nod to Angie and said his goodbyes as he went to continue his work.

Shortly after, there was a day Saihara was working, he noticed this short boy that, he was certain was probably a teenager? Or maybe just looked young for his age. He stood out to Saihara, since he was dressed rather strangely. Pure white long-sleeved shirt and pants, and a checkered scarf, all tattered. They looked like handmade Halloween costumes made between friends for a joke. This kid was with two other people who were dressed the same. They seemed to be messing around with the guests and workers alike.

Saihara shrugged it off, and went back to stocking the lower shelves. He didn’t have time to worry about them. Someone else would deal with them.

“Hey!” Saihara looked up, only to see the boy looking down at him. Wishful thinking that they wouldn’t bother him, he should have figured it was only a little bit of time before he was messed with.

“Do you need something?” Saihara said, standing up from off the floor.

“I actually have a super important question!” The boy spoke, his two friends giggling behind him. Saihara doubted the authenticity of that statement, but he played along and waited. “What are your favorite type of batteries?”

“Excuse me?” Saihara blinked, confused. He was expecting a joke question, but not something so weird.

“You heard me! Favorite batteries!”

“Um.” Saihara paused, he thought about telling the boy to go away, but he feared that’d cause issues. Workers had to be polite. So, he sighed, deciding to keep playing along. “Those, small ones. That go in my watch? I think they’re 2016 3-Volts?”

“Oh! Wow! That’s such an interesting and specific answer!” The boy sung out, swaying back and forth on his feet as he smiled, that smile quickly turning into a grin as he giggled. “Nishishi! That’s a lie! It’s actually super boring of an answer! Though, I’m surprised you didn’t tell me the even more boring answer of double-A’s like everyone else!” Another pause. “That’s a lie too. I’m not surprised.”

Saihara frowned, a bit dumbfounded. “Um, thanks?” He mumbled. The boy’s eyes were still fixated on him, as if expecting something more. “Do you, need anything else?” Saihara asked.

“Nope!” He said, quickly turning around on the heels of his feet, pushing between his two friends, motioning with his hands for them to follow. “Come on guys!” He said, highly cheerful, that Saihara imagined he was still grinning ear to ear.

“Yes, Ouma!” The boy’s friends called out, dramatically saluting, before turning around and following Ouma out.

Saihara shrugged off the interaction, finding it weird, but he assumed that was the end of it. He was perplexed, but he had work to do. So, Saihara continued stocking shelves, once and a while seeing Ouma and his friends running around or standing about the store. He questioned if they had nothing better to do. Retail stores were a weird choice to hang out in, but hey, it was still somewhere to go. Plus, they seemed to be enjoying riding around on the carts.

Soon enough, Saihara looked at his watch checking the time. It was finally time for him to go on his break. Fifteen minutes. Grabbing his walkie-talkie, he pressed the button with his thumb. “Saihara, going on his fifteen.” He spoke clearly, leaving his cart to the side of the aisle, turning off his walkie as he walked up front to go to the break-room. 

Only person in the break-room was another person he had seen working around the store, but hadn’t really interacted much with. He was also short, about the same height as Angie and Ouma. And like Angie, he also had white hair.

“Ah, hey…” Saihara paused, biting his lips as he tried to see the boy’s nametag. “Keebo!”

“Oh, hi Saihara.” Keebo looked up from his phone, smiling slightly. “How are you?”

“I’m, well, fine? Had some interesting guests come up to me, ask about my favorite batteries.”

That’s all it took for Keebo’s expression to go from tired, to one of frustration and shock. He jumped out of his seat, his hands slamming down on the table with a loud thump. “They harassed you too! They asked me that same question! But get this!” He raised his hands, motioning to himself. “Apparently, I look and act too much like a robot! So, they brought me batteries as an ‘act of kindness’ so I could replace mine if they died!” He was clearly upset. Retail could be frustrating, and not everyone liked guests trying to prank them. They were trying to work, they didn’t always have time for shenanigans. 

“That’s not too bad though?”

“I mean, I had to put all the batteries back where they belonged. Then they proceeded to ask me if robots had dicks? Very inappropriate and inconsiderate!” Keebo called out, slamming his hands on the table once more as he sighed. When Keebo saw Saihara’s concerned face, he settled down. “Oh, sorry.” He mumbled. “It’s been a long day, and I don’t appreciate their jokes… I tried to walkie the Leader on Duty… but that purple-haired boy slapped it on the floor and ran off… so I figured maybe they decided to leave instead?”

Saihara nodded. “Yea, maybe?” He pulled out the seat next to Keebo and sat down, as Keebo followed suit. “I saw them hanging out for a while now, they might had got bored and left by now.”

“I hope so.” Keebo sighed, taking out his phone again, checking it. “Ah, my fifteen is up. I have to get back to electronics with Iruma. If I’m lucky, maybe she hasn’t gotten herself fired by now without me there…”

Saihara cocked his head to the side.

“Have you not met Iruma? She’s, got a volatile personality. Knows more about electronics then me, but, her mouth gets her in trouble. If it wasn’t for her knowledge, she’d be fired by now…” Keebo stood up, pushing his chair in. “Anyway, have fun on your break, Saihara!” And with that, Keebo left the break-room, leaving Saihara alone.

Saihara rested his head on his hands, sucking in his cheek as he thought about the boy, Ouma, for a bit. Maybe he was the person leaving stuff in Saihara’s aisles out of whack? But then again, this was the first time he had seen the boy in the store, but, it wasn’t like he remembered everyone who came through the store. It was possible that Saihara had seen him before in casual clothes but didn’t remember him.

Quickly enough, fifteen minutes passed. And Saihara stood up, needing to get back to his job. Taking his walkie out, he turned it back on, and pressed the button once more, letting everyone know he was off break.

When he got back to his cart to pull out the next item to put away, he noticed there was more in it then he had left it with. Saihara blinked, and groaned, pinching his temple and closing his eyes. Batteries. There were all the 2016 3-Volt batteries from the store now in his cart. Thankfully he could scan them and find their location, so he did so.

G10. That was electronics. So Saihara took his cart, and walked at a decent pace to electronics. He spotted Keebo talking to a taller girl, her hair a rosy-blonde. They were arguing over something it seemed? He assumed she must be Iruma, so he wasn’t too shocked.

“Hey, Keebo,” Saihara called out, waving to Keebo as the boy turned around.

“Oh, hello Saihara! Enjoy your break?”

“Yea but-,“ Before Saihara could continue, Iruma had interrupted. 

“Hey, dipshit!” Iruma was vulgar, her tone not something that should be allowed in retail, and Saihara was thankful no guests were nearby to hear her. “Tell Keebo here-“

“Iruma.” Keebo interrupted, putting his hand up for a second to silence her. She shuddered, clearly, and super awkwardly, enjoying Keebo being assertive. Saihara was at a loss for words, and just, kind of blinked at the pair. 

“I got… batteries....” Saihara mumbled, grinning sheepishly.

“I guess those asswipes didn’t leave after all!” Iruma piped up, letting out a loud laugh. “I ain’t putting that shit away though.” She shrugged, walking away into another section of electronics, but to where, Saihara didn’t know or care fully.

Keebo groaned, and took out the batteries from the cart. “I got them, just, go do your section, Saihara. I’ll make sure to let the Leader on Duty knows about them.” And with that, Keebo took the batteries and left after Saihara made sure to give him a quick thank you.

So Saihara walked back to his section, thinking the troublemakers had maybe finally left. Only to be proven incorrect when he found the items in the aisle backwards again.

Quite a few days passed after that, a good two or so weeks. Saihara assumed that Kiibo hadn’t told anyone about the troublemakers. Why? Well, he kept seeing Ouma in the store more, sometimes in costume, other times not, but always with checkered scarfs. He always seemed to have different people with him, they changed back and forth. He seemed to be the leader, they always followed him, calling him sir.

Saihara now would see them peaking around corners. Hearing Ouma giggling, almost like some sort of trademarked quirk, it always came out like ‘nishishi’, or even ‘nee-hee-hee’. It wasn’t so much a mystery of who was doing the pranks anymore, but more so what they would do. If Saihara was smarter, he’d tell someone with authority to get them banned. But honestly, their more serious pranks were starting to seem more centered on solely just Saihara.

Even Keebo stated that, even though Ouma and his friends messed around with him and Iruma, it was just words passed around at a point. Apparently Ouma would get vulgar with Iruma, calling her names and insulting her. Though, she seemed to enjoy it? Keebo described it as weird and awkward, and most certainly not professional. Saihara could only imagine, and even then, he really did not want to.

Some of the pranks on Saihara got more elaborate than just swapping around items. One time he found a bunch of red bath mats laid out down the entire aisle. Another time Saihara, out of the corner of his eye, caught Ouma’s friends, or maybe they were more like lackeys, scurrying away from pulling out every single chair on the shelf.

Sometimes they’d open packaging and take things out. But honestly, nothing super destructive or harmful, and Saihara was quietly thankful he didn’t feel inclined to report them for anything majorly illegal, like stealing or actually destroying the store’s merchandise. They were inconsiderate to a sense, but still considerate to not be complete assholes. But, they were pushing their luck when they’d spill food and drinks on purpose, or push those buttons close by to seek an employee to help, then not at the location when Saihara got there. But, he’d still hear the giggling, and catch glimpses of Ouma. It was a game to them, he had realized.

Ouma wouldn’t even really let him have an actual conversation with him. He’d always lead it and take control. He'd show up out of nowhere usually, scaring Saihara, or he’d let his buddies hold a towel like a curtain, letting Ouma jump out from it.

Sometimes it’d be quick jokes or puns, even memes, before he ran off. Other times it was like Ouma was playing a game, and would lie about situations. Though not always would they be lies. Saihara couldn’t always tell. Ouma himself a mystery that Saihara wanted to figure out desperately. Something intrigued him about the short boy. He couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Saihara!” Ouma put his hands over Saihara’s eyes for a second, shocking him. Though as quickly as the hands went over his eyes, they were gone. Saihara turned to look at Ouma, but the boy had swiveled behind him, giggling, and Saihara had to turn once more to look at him.

“How may I help you?” Saihara said, smiling. He felt awkward to call a guest by their first name, so he avoided that. Sure, Ouma called him by his first name, but he had a nametag. Ouma never gave out his name, it was his buddies who did so. This time though, Ouma was alone, which Saihara realized he had never seen Ouma without his friends around.

“Someone took a shit in the middle of the floor over in the boy’s clothing! You should go clean it up!” Ouma sung, grinning, his hands behind his head, a pose Saihara learned was super common for him.

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?” Saihara responded, organizing some items on the shelves, even though as soon as he moved over to the next section, Ouma turned them around, causing Saihara to sigh. Technically, Saihara couldn’t clean up those kind of messes even if it did indeed exist, only certain people could. He didn’t want to give a false alarm to anyone without double checking.

“Oh~? Someone is getting a bit smarter, are they not?” Ouma said, letting out a quiet yet thoughtful, ‘hm’, as he proceeded to go tongue in cheek, staring at the blue haired worker. “You’re right, I totally just opened some candy bars and left them on the floor!”

“You wouldn’t open unpaid merchandise.”

“Hm, maybe, but who ever said it was unpaid?”

With that, Saihara straightened out, quietly cursed under his breath and fast walked to boy’s clothing, which was close by, thankfully. He could have walkied someone, but he still didn’t want to disturb anyone with the potential or not prank. So, he went to boy’s clothing, only to find nothing. He cursed under his breath again, a bit frustrated at himself for still not being able to fully know when Ouma was lying or not.

He returned to his section, expecting, almost hoping, Ouma was still there. But he wasn’t, just, all the items on one section pushed to the back of the aisle’s walls.

A few more hours passed, and Saihara didn’t see or hear Ouma. At this point, it was time for him to head home. “Saihara, clocking out for the day.” He said over the walkie as he then put it away, entering his numbers into the machine to clock out. Then proceeded to walk out the store. Turning the corner just barely, he saw Angie out of the corner of his eye ahead of him, who also seemed to be leaving work.

“Hey, Angie!” Saihara called out, walking faster towards her, only to notice, Ouma, with her. He stopped, a few feet away from the pair as they turned around.

“Oh! What a joy to see Saihara also getting off work!” Angie cheered, clasping her hands together. She smiled, jumping over to Saihara, grabbing his hands and shaking them with such a large amount of enthusiasm. “Have you met my friend?” Angie quickly asked, jumping over to Ouma, who, unlike beforehand of looking mischievous, came off a bit more, shy? Maybe nervous? Was it because he was now in a situation out of his control?

“This is Ouma!” Angie continued, bringing Saihara back to his senses. She stuck out her tongue, laughing a bit. “Did you kno-“

“Ha, Angie!” Ouma’s face had returned to the grin Saihara came to expect. Though, it seemed a bit more forced. He seemed like he was trying to regain control of the conversation so Angie wouldn’t do anything he didn’t want. “You didn’t tell me you knew Saihara!”

“That’s a lie!” She chimed out, still grinning.

“Ha, caught me again!” Ouma raised his hands as if to defend himself. He laughed, covering his mouth with one hand. He paused, his face going serious for a second as he lowered both hands to his side. “Come on, Angie, we should get going! Like, right now! We have to go do that super-duper important thing we were gonna do.”

Angie looked over to Ouma, a frown on her face. Ouma was clearly in a rush. Saihara was a bit perplexed. Did, Ouma not want to be around him? They had never really had an actual conversation but, Saihara figured that he was being annoying for a reason? Was the reason just to be annoying because he didn’t like him? No… that seemed, wrong, to say? If he really hated Saihara, surely there would be a better way to go about it.

Angie turned to Saihara, and noticed his face, clearly in thought, if not a bit worried. Angie huffed, smiling sweetly. “Atua has had a great idea!” She cheered, causing Ouma and Saihara to look at her. “Saihara, you should come over for tea!”

“What?” Both boys, said in unison. Both a bit confused due to some of the same and yet varying reasons.

“Tea. You know, the drink? It’s usually hot?”

“Yea I know.” Saihara responded, letting out an awkward laugh. Angie seemed genuine, even if it was sudden. “Okay, sure, why not! It beats walking home!” He agreed while trying to make a joke. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do, and he would be able to get to know Ouma better. Something he, honestly, really wanted to do? But he had to ask himself, did he just want to solve a puzzle, or actually befriend him? Saihara wasn’t fully sure, but, either way, hanging out wouldn’t hurt.

“Great!” Angie yelled, grabbing both Saihara and Ouma’s hands and dragging them off to her car.

The car ride was fairly quiet, excluding the music playing. Saihara sat in the back, Ouma shotgun. Ouma kept skipping songs. He wouldn’t let them play fully. A song would play for a good minute, Saihara would get invested into it, and Ouma would dramatically groan and change it. The car ride was short, only about ten minutes, but in that span, they hadn’t even listened to one full song.

“Here we are!” Angie called out, turning off the car, and opening the door, if not throwing it open. Ouma exited quickly too, followed by Saihara.

Saihara looked at the apartment complex for what seemed like a split second, only to be grabbed again by Angie, her grip forceful but not painful, as she dragged him off.

“Nyahahaha! Thankfully my roomies, Himiko and Toujo aren’t gonna be home till later! We can use the living room for just ourselves!” Angie laughed, dragging Saihara upstairs, only to let go of Saihara’s hand to fumble around with her keys to unlock the door.

When the door opened, Ouma squeezed past the two of them, rushing into the room and jumped onto the couch with a flop, taking up the entire loveseat. “You know how I like my tea!” He called out, taking his shoes off with his feet, flinging them onto the floor.

“You know the deal, either you gotta wait or you heat the water!” Angie smiled, getting a loud dramatic groan out of Ouma, as she turned back to Saihara as she pushed him inside, locking the door behind them. “I’m gonna get changed! Make yourself at home, Saihara!” She winked, confusing Saihara, only to rush into what Saihara presumed was her bedroom.

“So, um.” Saihara mumbled, walking over to the living room, sitting down in the single chair, looking at Ouma. “How-“

He was interrupted. “Did you ever find that mess I left in store?” Ouma spoke up as he jumped up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen to grab a kettle.  
“Oh, well, no, you were lying, weren’t you?”

Ouma laughed, a bit more quietly than usual. “Who knows? Maybe someone cleaned it up before you got there? Just because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean I was lying!”

“That’s…, honestly true.” Saihara mused, his elbow propped on the armrest, with his hand supporting his head. Saihara expected Ouma to take over the conversation, but the boy didn’t, so he continued instead. “So…” He trailed off a bit, running his other hand along the fabric of the sofa. “How do you know Angie?”

“She’s totally my girlfriend that I met on a dating phone app!” Ouma replied, turning around back to Saihara grinning as soon as the kettle was filled with water and heating up.

“Oh?” Saihara hadn’t expected that response, but he was skeptical and studied Ouma’s face.

“He’s lying~!” Angie yelled from her bedroom, causing Ouma to giggle and hop back over to the living room, flopping back down onto the couch.

Ouma shrugged, yawning. “Ah, she’s right! We met in high school. Such a boring truthful answer though! The lie was so much more interesting!”

Saihara didn’t fully know how to respond, not like he ever did, so he sat up straight, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. He didn’t know Angie or Ouma fully, and didn’t want to overshare. Small talk was never his strong suit, but then again, was it ever anyone’s strong suit? His eyes were wandering, surveying the furniture, the pictures, the walls, anything and everything.

Ouma ended the silence, groaning, covering his eyes with his hands. “I don’t know why Angie invited you over, Angie knows I hate your guts!” He was grinning, it was a bit more evil looking than usual. Saihara’s head snapped back to Ouma, his mouth slightly open. He could tell Ouma was peeking through his fingers at him. He was looking for a reaction. Saihara closed his mouth, swallowing for a second, before opening his mouth with the intention of speaking up.

At that moment, Angie flung her door open, both boy’s eyes turning to her. She was wearing white shorts and a yellow tank top, much more casual than her work clothes. “I invited him over because I know you got a huge crush on him~!”

Saihara’s open mouth closed once again. This boy, had a crush on him? Now he certainly didn’t know how to respond, but he saw Ouma jump out from the chair.

“I’m the prankster, Angie, not you!” Ouma laughed, it was forced, and, was he sweating? He was slightly red, blushing, his hands gripped into fists. If he wasn’t careful, his knuckles would go white.

“Oh, was I not supposed to say anything?” Angie thought out loud, clicking her tongue as she continued to think, ignoring Ouma’s accusation. “I mean, I figured you two could get to know each other! And over tea! It’s Atua’s will! He wanted me to play matchmaker!”

Ouma turned redder, and Saihara could feel the blush growing across his face. He couldn’t get words fully out before Ouma did.

“Ha! That’s gay!” Ouma choked out, clearly losing complete control of the conversation. His eyes flickered to Saihara, then back to Angie, then he ran into Angie’s room, locking the door.

Angie hummed, ignoring the fact her friend had locked himself in her room. She just grinned, a genuinely happy one at that. “So how do you like your tea?” She asked Saihara, digging through her cabinets for cups and materials.

“Oh, well, anything is fine, I guess?” Saihara mumbled, turning towards her, not able to worry about tea at the moment. He swallowed, his throat feeling a bit dry. “So… you’re, telling the truth?”

“I don’t lie!” Angie said.

“How long have you known, then?”

“A bit before you told me stuff was moving around in your aisle at work!”

“That’s… quite a bit of time. I guess though… that explains him messing with me so much?”

“Yep! He’s like a child trying to get attention!” Angie smiled, pouring the water out into cups to make the tea. Three cups. She expected Ouma to come get his tea. “I felt that I hadda take control! He’s just, such a little chicken shit!”

“I am not!” Ouma called out from the bedroom, slamming on the door with his fists.

Angie laughed. “Nyahahaha! What did I tell you, Saihara! He’s so scared he can’t even come confront you!”

With that the door flung open. Ouma, still red as a beet, stomped over, grabbing his tea from off the counter in the kitchen, then stomped over to the living room, sitting down on the floor in front of the coffee table. He didn’t look Saihara in the face, he just sat with his legs crossed, holding his tea carefully, eyes closed, looking triumphant as if he just won some majorly important bet.

Angie just chuckled, grabbing her tea and Saihara’s, before hopping to the boys, somehow not spilling the tea, and handed Saihara’s his. He thanked her, carefully taking the cup, not wanting to burn himself.

Saihara coughed, “So, um, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to react?” He sounded like a broken record at this point, and he quietly cursed himself for this fact. Thinking quickly wasn’t his strong suit either. He needed time to think over all the information given before he could come to a solid conclusion. Thinking too quickly made him second guess himself.

Angie, a perfect picture of cheeriness, sipped her tea before speaking up. “Well, I should have asked before probably inviting you over but, let’s start with, are you gay?”

It was an expected question. “I don’t know?”

Angie sucked her mouth in, puckering her lips. “Oh?”

“Never took the time to think much about it. School keeps one busy. Never really thought to label myself before…” Saihara laughed awkwardly, sipping his tea. It was, a bit too sweet? But he wasn’t the type to complain. “So, maybe, maybe not? Ah, sorry, if that’s not what you were expecting…” Saihara had now looked over to Ouma, who wasn’t normally this quiet. The boy was staring into his cup of tea.

Angie grinned. “Well, would you be willing to give Ouma a chance?” She sipped her tea again.

Ouma spoke up, his eyes looking up to Saihara, catching him staring. He grinned. “Ah, like my beloved~ Saihara would want to get to know a liar who makes his life at work hell!”

Saihara had caught his wording. Beloved. He had trailed on it. It was as if he was taunting Saihara or trying to turn it into a joke. He sucked his lips in, analyzing Ouma. From what he knew, Ouma, he was a liar. However, it read like a mask, as if Ouma wanted to protect himself from the hardships of the world. Though, this mask, had ended up taking over his identity, and seeped into other aspects of himself, lying about things that weren’t just about him protecting himself.

Saihara didn’t know if he should speak up, call out Ouma about what he had thought he knew about him in such a short amount of time. He didn’t want to creep them out, after all.

Ouma had just sipped his tea at the end of his statement, as if test how hot it was, then proceeded to quickly drink the rest in a short few gulps, then only to slam the cup on the coffee table.

Angie and Saihara both frowned, and before either of them could speak up, Ouma giggled. “Nishishi~ But… if I really did annoy him and he hated me…” He trailed off, standing up. “Wouldn’t he have reported me and all my accomplices to management?”

Saihara stuttered. “I-I mean… you’re.. you’re not wrong?” Saihara admitted, sipping his tea, in a weird attempt to calm his nerves. It didn’t work. And even if it had, he was out of tea.

Ouma giggled again, stepped onto the coffee table, stunning Saihara, but not Angie, who was just grinning, acting like this was a common occurrence. “I hope you’re not lying.” Ouma replied, stepping off the coffee table just as quickly, and now in front of Saihara. He took the cup out of Saihara’s hands, setting it on the table, and crawled into Saihara’s lap, causing Saihara to now be the one to turn red as a beat. How had the situation turned into this? He had no idea.

Situated in Saihara’s lap, Ouma licked his own lips. He was taking control of the situation again. It was almost surprising how quickly Ouma could bounce back from being quiet to flustered to flirty. Saihara was stunned, almost speechless. Especially now that Ouma was leaning towards his ear, whispering.

“Because, my beloved Saihara, you should know, I despise liars. They’re the worst.”

Before Saihara could even speak up, partially due to nerves holding him back, the apartment door unlocked and was opened. All three sets of eyes turned to the door. A tall girl had entered the room, closing the door and locking it behind her. She was in a dress, grey hair partially covering one of her eyes. She was very nicely put together, nothing out of place.

“Angie, I am home early.” She spoke, deadpan but proper. But now she was the one surveying the room. What laid before her was a grinning Angie holding a tea cup along with a red faced Saihara with Ouma in his lap, grinning mischievously.

“Ah, Toujo, welcome home!” Angie spoke like this was all normal. Like nothing weird was going on.

“I see I’m interrupting something.” Toujo spoke, and before Saihara could speak up, to try to say something normal, like, ‘hey, it’s nice to meet you Toujo!’, she went to what Saihara assumed was her bedroom, and entered, closing the door.

“Nishishi!” Ouma let out, jumping off of Saihara’s lap and onto the armrest, his legs draped across Saihara’s lap. “So~!” He trailed, looking down at Saihara, his face turning more serious. “How about a little game then?”

“Oh?” Saihara responded, studying Ouma’s face. 

“Rock, Paper, Scissors! If I win, you take me out for a date! If you win, I’ll take you out for a date!”

“Isn’t that the same thing either way?”

“So foolish! They’re not! So very dense, what an idiot!” It was harsh, but knew he was messing around, in a, weird kind of way. “I said, if I win, you take ME out, and vice versa for if you win! Like, you know, who pays for who!”

Saihara nodded, thinking it over. “Why don’t I just take you out to save us some time?” He shifted his eyes to look at Angie’s expression, who seemed to just, be minding her own business at this point as she finished her tea.

“That’s no fun!” Ouma whined, sliding his body so his legs hung over the floor so he could stand up. “But, fine. How about…” He trailed off, licking his own lips again, thinking. “Tomorrow! After your shift, I’ll meet you in front of the store!”

Saihara wanted to ask Ouma how that he knew he worked tomorrow, but he also knew Angie could easily tell Ouma, and even if he asked, he wouldn’t get a straight answer. “Okay, sure.”

“Nyahaha! Atua is smart! He knew this would happen! Atua is a great matchmaker!” Angie laughed, standing up, heading back over to the kitchen to pour herself more water for tea.

“Atua did nothing! You just opened your big mouth, like usual!” Ouma groaned, looking frustrated. “You had no idea if that would have worked!”

“I have faith in Atua to lead me and my friends to happiness!”

“Pffttt.” Ouma blurted, hopping over to Angie with his cup, handing it to her, like an eager child expecting her to fill his cup with more tea. Ouma looked down though, leaning towards Angie, “Thanks, Angie.” He murmured, quietly, only wanting Angie to hear. But, Saihara could barely make it out, though he pretended he had heard nothing.

“No problem!” Angie yelled, grinning, as Ouma dramatically called her out on making it obvious of his thank you. Saihara could only chuckle. This was enjoyable, hanging out with people, having tea. He could get used to this. At this point, he figured out his decision was befriending Ouma, instead of just, solving the mystery that was Ouma. Though, in a way, parts of the mystery had been solved. Like, why Ouma was doing what he had been doing.

Saihara never really had friends that wanted to do anything, so this was a refreshing change of pace. He did feel bad for Toujo, confining herself to her room, but, he had a date with Ouma. Maybe now Ouma wouldn’t mess with him so much at work, but part of Saihara didn’t think that would happen. Part of also him hoped it wouldn’t stop. He just hoped that maybe they’d stay away from the more disruptive pranks.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like the idea of Angie and Ouma getting along and being friends?  
> Also, the battery thing is something that actually happened in the store I work. Not to this extent, but some kids were asking people their favorite types of batteries, running off, then coming back with said batteries.  
> Same kids even congratulated me on the TVs in electronics, told me I did a good job on them, and gave me fist bumps? Then they asked about the prices of headphones, and one of the kids fell backwards dramatically, twice, when i told him the prices, and the other kid told me he was sure he could afford the 200$ ones, but not the 300$ ones.


End file.
